Suzuki shop rumours.

**blossomsowner** · 20th November 2008, 20:04

Originally Posted by jrandom

O RLY?

All I see is interest rates and commodity prices becoming sensible again.

you must be mighty confident in your employment to have that attitude......

Yeah some prices are coming back down a bit............doesn't help much if you have lost your job though. I work in the construction industry and there is plenty of people having hard times there...............

and they mostly do useful things for the country too..............

**jrandom** · 20th November 2008, 20:12

Originally Posted by blossomsowner

you must be mighty confident in your employment to have that attitude...

*shrug*

I'm pretty sure that what I'm working on will continue to be needed, yes. If it ever turns out not to be, I'll work on something else that is, rather than having a cry over the results of my own poor judgment.

Originally Posted by blossomsowner

I work in the construction industry and there is plenty of people having hard times there..

Could that be because it's been booming off the back of projects funded with unsustainably-borrowed money for a while now, and some of those people didn't have the nous to realise that their wages were being paid by a house of cards?

**1 Free Man** · 20th November 2008, 21:10

Originally Posted by Blossom

Sorry off topic here.. but.. does that mean you have upgraded the vl?

Not quite. Still have the VL but have bought an S83 for when I get my full licence.
Don't know how long I will be able to leave it in the garage without giving it a wee try.

**ckai** · 21st November 2008, 06:38

Originally Posted by wickle

Its surprise;s me how many so called "BUSINESS Expects" are on this site, if you are all so good you should get together and buy/takeover one of these failing bike shops. An old freind once told me that when in busineess
" If you are doing well experts say you are ripping evevyone off." When things are not so good you are a fool and dont know what you are doing.!
Regretfully in todays world NO_ONE whats to pay full retail price but what is full retail price.

Is an expert someone who offers an opinion or someone that forces an opinion?

If I knew the bike industry as well as my current industry I would probably consider it. But then I would probably be called a "blood-sucker" and evil capitalist for benefiting from the down-trodden by those "experts" that say I rip people off when times are good.

There are profits, then there are super-profits. I'm all for people that reward themselves for their hard work, but can't stand those that take advantage of their staff to get it.

picture 10 nice new bikes in a shop say being worth $200grand, how many bike shops can afford that cash outlay upfront, now that some(suzuki dealers)cant finance them to buy them to sell or display,dealers now will not like trading in your old one unless its a quick easy sell
this is how it used to roughly work,dealer buys bike off the importer through a finance company,the dealer has 3 months to sell before that finance company starts charging the dealer interest on the wholesale price,some dealers got into trouble with this in good times but in these times the finance companies have pulled the pin on the risk to them

Imagine what the car dealers would be going through? Or is it set up different?

Those shops that are liquidating, I suppose they would sell their bikes to other dealers?? Shame if they did

**Pussy** · 21st November 2008, 06:59

Making a profit isn't a crime.... your accountant will tell you it's a REQUIREMENT

**SPman** · 21st November 2008, 13:47

Originally Posted by Forest

Is that pink Buell a factory paint job?

Bad photography - it's more red than that - the new 1125CR - I asked if they had one, they looked around, said"we must have sold it", and 2 mins later they wheeled a new one onto the floor from the stockroom out back.If we hadn't been on our way to the airport, they would have been happy for me to take it out .....

**HenryDorsetCase** · 21st November 2008, 15:50

Originally Posted by Hitcher

There will be bargains to be had. Perhaps there is a cheap V-Strom in my future after all...

or an even cheaper DR650 in mine!

**HenryDorsetCase** · 21st November 2008, 16:11

I think there is a pretty fundamental dichotomy at the heart of the motorcycle shop and motorcycle shop customer relationship.

A motorcycle shop customer is, by definition, an enthusiast. He or she is pretty much always spending hard earned money on a lifestyle product. (And in this thread its been pretty conclusive that the brand doing the best is the one that caters to its lifestyle customers the best, i.e. H-D). The customer is paying out of discretionary income, and because they are enthusiasts, they want their experience and lifestyle choice and aspiration to be shared by the dealer.

The dealer on the other hand MUST be a businessman first and foremost because otherwise they cannot continue in business to service their enthusiast customers. It helps if they are enthusiasts also BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY. The principles of making a profit on every widget sold, keeping the costs under control, being a form filler for the government, and employing and keeping staff happy and motivated would apply if they were selling motorbikes or beach volleyball equipment.

So the customers expectation that because this purchase is a lifestyle choice and they have favoured the dealer with their discretionary dollar (which they have because it could be spent elsewhere) and the dealer's need to make money on every deal are at loggerheads. It seems to me that managing that conflict so that both sides are happy is the key to the business. Some do it extraordinarily well (the HD dealer here (Rolling Thunder), Ashburton Honda, Sportzone Suzuki are three where I would go again tomorrow. Others less so. (no names)

**Krazyklaus** · 24th November 2008, 20:52

Along with the credit squeeze the Kiwi Peso is also not helping our importers.
This time last year 1NZ$ bought you 85 Yen. Today you'll only get 50 Yen.
Big price rises on new and imported used bikes are coming.

**scumdog** · 24th November 2008, 21:09

Originally Posted by raftn

Thats great.........if you want to buy a tractor.

I guess.

And the option is: no bike.??

**SARGE** · 24th November 2008, 21:46

ya know.. heres the thing..i heard on the radio today.. some pundit saying that the auto industry will lose 30% of its dealers over the next 18 months in NZ..

probably true..lets call it "financial Darwinism"

the ones that treat customers like dollar signs and fail to deliver exceptional service will fall over..

the ones that go the extra mile to treat customers with respect will thrive and grow.

as i have stated earlier in this thread.. .. several of my dealers are going into receivership...

on the other hand.. i have a few that are expanding and spending..i have enjoyed 4 record sales months in a row personally..not all reps in my company can say that..mirroring the market..

this is an artificially created recession.. the bankers and bigwigs engineered this to drop the world markets in order to buy up stocks, futures and currency at fire sale prices...

they get richer.. you get poorer.. ignore the media..you are being lied to

**Motu** · 24th November 2008, 21:58

We hear that about 15 workshops in our area have closed....and business is picking up.This is a small 2 branch dealership,but very long standing....I have no idea of how they are doing.The Xmas bonus will be a good clue.

The customers that like to moan and find fault will have more reason to complain.Those customers that appreciate our good service will be even more positive in their response.Keep the good ones - cut loose the bad,they will drag you under.

**Digitdion** · 25th November 2008, 08:37

SArge, i must agree with you, in regard to everything being blown out of preportion by the media.I believe that we used to call it PROPAGANDA. Remember 6 months ago everything we read was about oil prices going up to $200 a barrel. Now we hear nothing. Fear and bad news get people watching or reading the news.

My advice is do not get to greedy, be sensible with your hard earned cash. You may be better off not buying that new helmet. But that will not stop you riding like the wind will it!?!